Carry On
by Barefoot Beach Bum
Summary: Post-IM2. Extreme AU. Post-Why Am I The One. Struggling to cope, Pepper must move on from the tragic events of Monaco. Picking up the duties of Iron Man, CEO and owner of Stark Industries, and a few other roles down her timeline. Will she be able to move on with the earned titles, or will she fall into an abyssal of depression and failure? Summary sucks. XD Sorry. R&R!
1. Chapter 1

Hello, people of the world! This is BarefootBeachBum here, welcoming you to the first installment of Carry On. **You need to read Why Am I The One before reading this**. Because you really wont understand it.

I am co-authoring this with LadyLeafing (she is really good btw. I suggest you go check her out!) But I haven't heard from her in forever and I finished this chapter so I thought I would go ahead and post it seeing how busy I'll be with everything.

_**I don't own Tony Stark or any recognizable characters, settings, etc. All I own is an Iron Man 2 tee-shirt and a magazine cut out of a reviews of Sherlock Holmes 2. I'm so...pathetic. XDDDD Or Carry On by fun. Anybody notice a theme here?**_

I've already figured out a name for the sequel! It is a fun. song so feel free to guess in the reviews!

oh! and this will be a multi-chapter story.

And for some reason, it wont let me post anything at the bottom of the story soooo...PLEASE REVIEW!

* * *

**If you're lost and alone **  
**Or you're sinking like a stone **  
**Carry on **  
**May your past be the sound **

**Carry on**

* * *

Six Months after Why Am I The One

* * *

Pepper sighed as she slipped off her heels. Briefly pausing unhook the small silver hoops from her ear, she rolled onto her bed. Immediately, Tony's scent invaded her nostrils. She sighed in content.

"Ms. Potts?" the AI interrupted her peace. "More Stark supplies have been located in Iran."

The red-head groaned and sat up.

"Where?"

"Chalus, ma'am"

Pepper nodded. "Okay, I'll be in the basement in ten minutes. Let me use the bathroom and eat something."

As she stood, she expected a reply for Jarvis, but never received one. Quickly using the restroom and forcing down a half pack of Ritz crackers and a Five Hour Energy, Pepper zipped up the spandex lining that Tony had made for down the stairs quickly, she addressed the super-computer, asking Jarvis if the suit was prepared.

"Indeed, ma'am."

Pepper nodded in approval. She absentmindedly hummed a tune when approaching the robotic system. She stepped onto the padded area and suited up.

* * *

Stumbling into the basement, battered and bruised, Pepper sluggishly moved the alloyed suit into the docking station. She waited patiently as the 'bots disassembled the suit before stumbling off to call Rhodey.

"Hello?" The colonel said.

"Hey, it's me."

"You okay?"

Pepper winced. "I've been better."

"Do you need me to come over?" Worry was weaved into his voice like golden thread.

"No. Just letting you know that I didn't disappear in the middle of Iran."

Rhodey chuckled. "Avoiding following in Tony's footsteps?"

Peppers throat constricted. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Memories of watching Tony die evaded her mind. She couldn't escape them, wouldn't escape them. She would-

"Pepper...!" Came Rhodey's concerned call. The redhead hummed a response. "That's it," he said. "I'm coming over."

She shook her head. "That isn't needed, James."

"Yes it is. Pepper, you need therap-"

Pepper had had enough. She quickly ended the call, snapping the phone shut. She pulled herself up the stairs with the railing, physically and emotionally exhausted.

"Jarvis, turn on the lights, please."

"Turning lights to 35 percent capacity."

The AI did so, and Pepper wandered off to her bathroom where the promise of hot water awaited her.

* * *

"Ms. Potts," the AI called, startling the ginger CEO. She took a breath and hummed her acknowledgement. "Mr. Stark left his daily...gift via Dummy."

Pepper nodded before standing out of her bath and adorning her torso with her fluffy yellow towel. She climbed out of the bathtub with precision and skill, doing her best to not skip and crack open her skull. She dreaded to find out what would happen to SI if that happened. Pepper quickly dried and dress herself. The black yoga pants skimmed the ground as she fought to get the white tanktop straight.

"Right...where would the location of the gift be?' She asked, padding her way to the living room.

"In the kitchen, ma'am. On the counter near the stove."

"Thank you, Jarvis."

"Anything for you, ma'am."

She smiled at this. Pepper might not have many friends, but she knew she could rely on the artificial intelligence to be there. He didn't have any prejudices, unless Tony had programmed him to have that information to do so.  
Wandering back out of thought, the redhead glanced at the stove top. Resting near it, in all its inanimate glory, sat a bitter looking metal canister, rimmed at the bottom with black and clamped shut with a small thumb print reading scanner. On the side, written on a sticker, was:

Name: Stark, Anthony Edward

Gender: Male

Hair: Black

Eye: Brown

Property of Malibu Sperm Bank

Pepper scrunched up her nose at the canister. She swallowed thickly.

"Jarvis, is this what I think it is?"

"Indeed, ma'am. Mr. Stark felt it appropriate to keep the company within the bloodline."

"...So he left me _sperm_..."

"It would seem so, Miss Potts."

The said person nodded numbly. She spotted a white canister sticking out from under the canister. She started to poke the silver canister out of the way so she could see what lay underneath.

_**Pepper Potts**_

The strawberry blonde chewed on her lips nervously and in contemplation as she mentally debated whether or not to open it or not. The resistance didn't last. Her pinky finger wedged itself in between the two pieces of paper and started to rip them apart. Pepper slowly pulled the neatly folded paper out of the envelope and unfolded the paper.

_**Dear my Pepperpott,**_

_****_Pepper wrinkled her nose at the name.

_** You must be thinking I'm a completely lunatic and that my whole leaving-of-the-sperm idea wasn't my best idea. Nah, that was hiring you. But anyhoo, you must be thinking right now in that lovely head of yours how my ego has been boosted ten times more by this little...idea. I can say that you would stroked it greatly if you accepted sperm from a brilliant man like me. I mean, there's only **_**one**_** Tony Stark in the world. And you would be carrying his son even though he is six foot under. Okay...I think I might be crazy. But my main point is that when you die, I don't want SI going to some young wannabe like Hammer. This is not the main reason I left behind sperm. I think it might be the image of you along with a mini me. Not that you are some lonely hermit or whatever...soooo yeah. Its odd how thing can get awkward when I'm writing a letter. I love **_**you**_**, Pepper Potts. And don't forget it.**_

_** Tony**_

_**P.S. Jarvis has an update in the flashdrive in the envelope. It should be in there...**_

Pepper let out a shaky sigh. She would have some serious thinking to do over these next few days. She quietly set the paper and flashdrive back next to the canister. The ginger turned her back to the items and retreated to her room.


	2. Chapter 2

Hallo! Wie geht's? Prima? Gut. Hehe. So! LadyLeafling wroute this chapter. Haven't heard from Jack (my nickname for her...) in about a week and a half maybe...dunno.

So! No reviews I believe...Eh. Oh well. PLease review. *cough* Zoe! *cough*

Buuuut anyhoo, anybody watching the new episodes of Doctor Who? How about that last episode...I won't ever be able to look at the Statue of Liberty the same way EVER again...*shudder*

**Disclaimer: Not even a guy. The Amazing, Wonderful Stan Lee is. **

Whovians! Spot the characters. :)

* * *

The week preceding the discovery of the note and canisters had crawled by heartbreakingly slow, and the longer Pepper deliberated, the deeper she fell into her stupor. Holding the flash-drive tightly in her clasped hands, until the plastic sheath bit into her palm, the ginger slumped against her unyielding metal-desk and gritted her teeth against the sorrow that was bearing down so heavily upon her. Tony had asked plenty of things of her—running his company being one of the many important things—but, having his child…

Her eyes prickled with fresh tears, as Pepper thought of raising said child. He or she would be handsome or beautiful—with their father's devilish charms and their mother's sense. On Halloween, Pepper would take them trick-or-treating, and on Christmas, she would watch them dive under the tree looking for presents. During the long summers, they would fly out of the country to a tropical getaway, and during the winters, she would bundle them up and take them to Rockefeller center to skate of the ice. In a sense, she would still be able to do all of that…just without Tony.

Pepper worried her lip, as tears streaked down her cheeks. Without Tony… the child would grow up without his or her father. Pepper would have to face the ups and downs of parenthood without Tony, an ideal that wouldn't have been so bad, if not for the fact that Tony hadn't chosen to be an absentee father—no, he would never do that. He wouldn't be like his own father, Howard Stark. If Tony was here; he would do everything in his power to raise his child to be happy.

She thought of Tony running through the house with their would-be child; how they would keep up trouble during all hours of the day. Suddenly, the fantasies dissipated from her mind like smoke being blown away by the changing wind. A less idyllic thought seized her attention, then. Tony, pale and blue, laying sprawled out on the floor—dead… there was nothing she could do to save him, and yet, she felt guilt-ridden.

Her head spun with oncoming nausea, and Pepper quickly dropped the flash-drive onto the desk, and pushed herself away from it, as she abruptly stood and raced to the bathroom. Gripping the toilet seat firmly, Pepper retched and sobbed all the same, as a thick veil of melancholy and emotional agony enveloped her.

After her stomach was sufficiently emptied, Pepper sniffled and wiped her face with the sleeve of her shirt. Leaning her head on her folded arms, the ginger wept quietly. As she sat there in silence, Pepper wondered, "If Tony was here, would she even be considering getting pregnant?" she hoped that, if the circumstances were different—and Tony was still here—her answer to that question would be an unequivocal 'yes.'

Seeing as she could not change the universe, or travel through time on demand, Pepper would never be able to have Tony and his son or daughter, at the same time. Though, traditional as she was at times, she would have to bring the child on her own. She blinked several times to clear up her hazy vision, as she realized that her mind had made itself up. An absent-hand wandered to her flat stomach, and for a moment, she began to rub her belly. It was flat now—but, as long as she had no doubt in her heart; she would go through with the procedure and get pregnant. She could feel it now, a prominent swell in her stomach.

She closed her eyes wistfully.

* * *

It was three days later, when Pepper finally summoned the strength to contact the respectful private-practice she had found online seeking more information about the artificial insemination procedure. From the website, Pepper gathered that the treatment center was as high-end as they could get, and though there were no fancy advertisements, the clinic had astounding appraisals from patients. When the ginger had made to get the phone-number from the contact-page on the website, she noted that, though the clinic had private-practices based all around North America, the main treatment facility was based in Canada—which Pepper thought was a definite plus, because lord knows she didn't want to be recognized or photographed by anyone.

She had scribbled the number down hastily and barely had the folded sticky-note tucked away in her brassiere for safe-keeping, before a sharp knock resounded through her office. Pepper steeled her nerves and held back every impulse to jump, as she looked up and met eyes with a very nervous-looking secretary. Pepper watched the other woman warily, as she slowly closed her laptop and pushed it to the far side of the desk.

The secretary took a deep breath, before she spoke. "I, uh, hope I'm not interrupting anything Ms. Potts?" Her statement sounded more like a question than she probably intended it to. She began twiddling her thumbs, as she held her clipboard fast to her chest.

Pepper shook her head, as she took on a more welcoming-posture. "No, you're fine." The ginger replied, as she pushed herself away from the desk and stood calmly. Rubbing her sweaty palms against her black pencil-skirt, Pepper smiled gently. Briefly, she wondered, as she stared at her secretary, if that's how she looked to Tony on her first day working—nervous and fidgeting; pretty and posh in her corporate-apparel and high-heels. Probably not—Pepper was never one to be a push-over.

Pepper watched as the other woman let her posture slacken; and, with that, she let her grip on the light brown clipboard in her grasp lessen. Pepper stepped away from the desk and ushered her inside the room. The secretary worried her bottom lip, before stepping inside the office and closing the door behind her.

"Yes, ma'am? Did you need anything?" She asked tensely.

Pepper laughed and was surprised at how genuine it sounded. Holding a hand to her mouth, the ginger felt her heart flutter with the beginnings of a tidal-wave of indiscernible emotions. Clearing her throat, Pepper regained a sense of professionalism and regarded the other woman with unreadable eyes.

"You came to my office, Rose. I assumed you would have something to tell me. For instance, aren't you going to tell me why you have that clipboard?"

The secretary looked confused for a moment, before her green eyes lit up with understanding, and she stared down at the object in question. Something on the board must have been important, because the secretary immediately began to apologize profusely for her absentmindedness, as she rushed to Pepper's side to hand over the clipboard. "I'm so sorry, Ms. Potts. I should have remembered…" She went on and on; even after Pepper told her not to worry her pretty little head about it.

Pepper, with clipboard in hand, leaned against the edge of her desk and began leafing through the documents. None too surprisingly, it was something or another about managing Tony's estate and assets—matters suited better for stuffy, old bureaucrats than the recently widowed. Pepper rubbed her eyes, fatigue and frustration showing through her cool-steel façade.

Rose was as quiet as a mouse, despite her agitated movements, and the ginger could read her like a book. She was itching to say something—do something. She wasn't used to this kind of inaction. Pepper dropped the clipboard onto the desk, before motioning for the secretary to fetch her coat; which was hanging by the door on a brass hook. Once Pepper had shrugged the jacket onto her shoulders, she told Rose to set up yet a meeting with her lawyer and swept from her office for some much needed fresh air.

Outside, Pepper breathed deeply the smell of the outdoors, as she skulked up the street in no particular direction. Work was harder than usual, what with this person and that person trying fruitlessly to stake a claim of Tony's fortune. In situations like this, one would say that 'his body wasn't even cold, yet' and still; everyone was determined to try and seize his company and properties—but, Pepper couldn't. Not even if she were speaking allegorically. Pepper felt his skin; it was icy under her palms and fingertips, he hasn't been warm in what already felt like a lifetime to her.

Pepper bit hard into her knuckle, as she stood on the sidewalk, waiting for the busy intersection to calm down; so, she could make her way across the street. She didn't know where she was heading, but she wanted to put distance between herself and everything—book-keeping, stuffy conferences, ceaseless hordes of people giving her halfhearted condolences.

Her breath steamed in the chilled air around her in billowy, white buffs of smoke. Pepper shivered, as the frigid wind swept by and stirred her knotted locks. Holding her jacket tight against her body, the redheaded darted across the street before the pedestrian signal had a chance to change.

Car horns blared noisily, as drivers slammed their brakes and skid to an abrupt halt. Pepper ignored them and their heated swears, as she ran across the street as fast as her heels would allow. On the other side, she continued her aimless stroll. Her mind was devoid of thought, as she wandered, and it took until her phone vibrated in her coat pocket with a call from Rhodey, to snap her out of her reverie.

When Pepper glanced at the caller-ID, she sighed ruefully. She wasn't going to even pretend that she was going to answer it—she wasn't in the mode to talk, and she wasn't in the mood to listen, either. Brandishing the mobile, Pepper disconnected the call and put her cellphone on Air-Plane mode.

When she went to put it back, however, Pepper remembered the memo with the private-practice's phone-number scrawled haphazardly on it. Reaching into her blouse, she retrieved said note and read the number carefully, and began entering it into her phone.

Her hands trembled and her fingers moved about stiff and uncoordinatedly with each button pressed. Her reddened cheeks tingled from the biting wind. Her eyes stung with aridity, but she daren't blink them, for fear she would break the trace she was unknowingly under.

As she brought the cellular-phone to her ear, Pepper leaned heavily against the street-light, as if her legs couldn't hold her up any longer. Holding her breath, as the dial-tone hummed cacophonously in her ear, the ginger wondered momentarily if she had dialed the wrong number. She checked the front and the back of the sticky-note to make sure she hadn't. As she did so, she was caught off guard by the receptionist answering the phone.

"Hello, this is Rory of Larson Health." He stated professionally. His voice was heavily accented, but not obnoxious—nothing native to Canada; Pepper knew that for sure. "Who am I speaking with and how may I help you today?" Rory asked.

Pepper took a steadying breath, as she gripped tightly onto the phone. Unsure what to say—because, surely, asking 'hey, can you get me pregnant?' isn't at all proper—Pepper raked her fingers through her fringe. Steeling her nerves, she tried to find a way to phrase her enquiry. Pepper sighed shakily: "Uh—well… I was looking at your website and am interested in, um… a consultation. But, before… I would like to ask a few questions?"

The sound of fabric rustling let Pepper know that Rory was still on the other line. "A consultation? What would you like to know, Miss…?"

"Potts…" Pepper supplied, all too quickly.

"Ms. Potts." Rory parroted. Clearing his throat, he continued: "The procedure is safe and effective—painless, too…"

Pepper pushed herself off the streetlight and began walking down the sidewalk again. "Yeah… I read that online." She informed quietly.

"So, what is it that you would like to know?" Rory asked, his voice almost drowned out by the resounding echo of keys on the keyboard clacking and a mouse clicking in a disjointed rhythm. After a moment of listening to Rory work the computer, Pepper bit her lip, before speaking again: "Well, I would like discuss matters of privacy." She replied.

Pepper informed Rory of her situation in the most inexplicit way she could think of. Telling him that she was recently widowed and in possession of her would-be baby-daddy's sperm—and how she wished for everything to be done in complete privacy. Rory didn't question her reasoning, or make any recommendations, instead he clicked at his keyboard and hummed supportively. In the end, she scheduled an appointment at the main facility in Canada, like she had planned. Before she hung up, she thanked Rory wholeheartedly for his consideration and his assistance.

"You're welcome Ms. Potts." Rory said gently. "We hope to see you soon. Have a nice day."

With that, the call was concluded. Pepper replaced her phone in her pocketed and quickly crossed the busy intersection on the way back to Stark Industries. There was a newfound bounce in her step—a feeling of elation that she hadn't felt in months.

* * *

Later on, after a long day of work, Pepper found herself in the elevator with Rose. The blonde-haired woman had shed her professional effects for something of a more casual-nature, and was currently texting on her mobile. She chuckled quietly and responded in earnest, but never once forgot that she was standing in the midst of her boss. As she typed out another response, the secretary glanced warily at Pepper out of the corner of her eye, to make sure the ginger wasn't reading her text. Rose startled when she noticed that Pepper had fallen asleep against the wall.

And though she looked peaceful, Rose knew she could not leave Pepper there. Her self-conscious wouldn't allow it. Tucking her cell phone away, the blonde advanced carefully on her boss. "Ms. Potts..." She whispered, as she reached out and gently touched her shoulder. The coarse fabric of Pepper's coat tickled her palm. When the ginger didn't stir, Rose pressed her hand more firmly into Pepper's shoulder. "Ms. Potts, you need to wake up." She said with a little more urgency in her voice.

Pepper's eyes fluttered open slowly. "Ms. Tyler… what are you doing here?" The ginger drawled, tiredly.

Rose withdrew her hand and tucked it away in her pockets. "We're in the elevator. I'm heading home..." She informed matter-of-factly.

Pepper closed her eyes, again. "Oh...alright. Good night, Rose." She mumbled, as she let herself slide down the wall, until she was seated comfortably on the floor.

"You can't sleep there, Ms. Potts..." Rose scrunched her nose up when Pepper snored lightly in response.

* * *

Had more written, but I couldn't really update with a random spot. So I picked here.

**Review. Please do. It's like Rose for the Doctor. And flirting for Captain Jack Harkness. Pepper for Tony. Chocolate for woman. Bier zu der Deutschh...HAPPY OKTOBERFEST, LOVELIES.**

**Ze German request a review. Nao. Please. I GIVE YOU STUFFED IRON MAN FROM TARGET THAT I REAAAAAAAAAAALLLLLY WANT. OR THE AVENGERS DVD. Or a David Tennant...whichever you prefer...*pets RDJr like Nagini :3***

**REVIEW!**


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